Systems, methods, and computer-readable media for electronic report tracking

ABSTRACT

Exemplary embodiments are disclosed herein for processing one or more sheets of sheet material in a deposit include various systems and processes. The systems and processes include receiving a sheet in a sheet-accepting device. Further, the systems and processes include detecting, by a sensor, characteristic information about the sheet. The characteristic information indicates whether the sheet is anomalous. The systems and processes also include encoding, by an encoding device, the sheet based on the characteristic information detected by the sensor. The encoding includes encoding the sheet with anomaly information when the characteristic information indicates that the sheet is anomalous. The anomaly information identifies a reason for indicating that the sheet is anomalous. Moreover, the systems and processes include disposing the encoded sheet in a container for further processing when the characteristic information indicates that the sheet is anomalous.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/634,155, filed on Feb. 27, 2015, which is related to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/634,241, filed on Feb. 27, 2015, the disclosuresof each of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to accounting, and morespecifically to systems, methods, and computer-readable media for sheetmaterial processing and account reconciliation.

BACKGROUND

In currency processing systems, if the system determines that banknoteor other currency objects cannot be read properly, is damaged, iscounterfeit, or is otherwise unfit for continued circulation, the systemwill generally reject the banknote or currency object for a human toperform a second review of the note. In order to maintain depositintegrity and ensure that the original deposit account is credited forthat note, the system must keep track of which account that note isassociated with. This is currently done one of two ways. Some systemsstop the machine after processing each deposit, and have a human revieweach note in that deposit and reconcile the account that deposit camefrom. This causes a labor intensity problem and causes a loss inproductivity. Other systems continue running the machine and usephysical separators inserted between each deposited set of notes in therejected-note container in order to keep track of what account thoserejected notes were associated with. These physical separators can takethe form of header cards, trailer cards, input package barcodes. Thecurrency processing machine will recognize the physical separators asidentifying the beginning of a new deposit during processing, and willidentify with which account the sequentially following sheets areassociated.

The Cash Cycle describes what happens to currency from printing todestruction. Currency, a subset of currency objects, is created anddistributed by Central Banks (and similar authorities), enterscirculation, is used and reused many times, and eventually reaches apoint where it is worn or soiled and must be replaced with a new note.This also is true for other currency objects such as Food Coupons,Casino Vouchers, Cash-Out Tickets and other types of currency objectsused in commerce.

For example, currency (also known as banknotes) are dispensed, carried,spent, stored, exchanged and transported. They are transported in bulkfrom places of excess buildup, such as retailers, to more securelocations, such as Cash in Transport (CIT) facilities, bank vaults, etc.Whenever notes are aggregated, they must be sorted and counted. Invirtually all places where any reasonable volume must be counted, thisis done with machines of varying levels of speed and sophistication.

In the past several decades, the use of machines to count, sort andvalidate currency has expanded significantly in terms of both quantityand breadth of functionality. Some machines are used to count, sort,authenticate, capture serial numbers, evaluate fitness and even destroybanknotes (where this is authorized) at speeds up to or exceeding 44banknotes per second.

One area of currency object processing that has not kept pace with otheradvancements in the field has been the handling and reconciliation of“rejects;” that is, currency objects that cannot be properly counted andsorted with automated equipment. Accordingly, there is great need forimprovement in the handling and reconciliation of rejects and, to someextent, a reduction in human interaction with the banknotes, thusreducing the opportunity for mistakes or theft.

Further, the currency processing system will reject notes for manyreasons, including the note being unreadable by the system because thenote is, for example, torn, folded, heavily damaged, or glued together.The system also rejects notes because the system determines that thenote may be counterfeit, or because the note should be shredded.Physical separators generally do not specify the reason that each noteis rejected, but rather separates rejected notes from differentaccounts. Thus, a secondary human inspection is required to determinethe cause of the note being rejected and what should be done with thenote as a result. This again results in a labor intensity problem andcorresponding loss of productivity.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

According to aspects of the present disclosure, methods, systems, andmedia disclosed herein for processing one or more of a plurality ofsheets of sheet material in a deposit include various systems andprocesses. The systems and processes include receiving one or more sheetof the plurality of sheets in a sheet-accepting device. Further, thesystems and processes include detecting, by at least one sensor,characteristic information about the one or more sheet. Thecharacteristic information indicates whether the one or more sheet isanomalous. The systems and processes also include encoding, by anencoding device, the one or more sheet based on the characteristicinformation detected by the sensor. The encoding the one or more sheetincludes encoding the one or more sheet with anomaly information whenthe characteristic information indicates that the one or more sheet isanomalous. The anomaly information identifies a reason for indicatingthat the one or more sheet is anomalous. Moreover, the systems andprocesses include disposing the encoded one or more sheet in a containerfor further processing when the characteristic information indicatesthat the one or more sheet is anomalous.

Other objects, features, and advantages will be apparent to persons ofordinary skill in the art from the following detailed description andthe accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, needssatisfied thereby, and the objects, features, and advantages thereof,reference now is made to the following description taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary virtual separator encodingsystem according to particular embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation showing exemplary communicationsbetween a sheet-accepting device, a sensor comprising a plurality ofsensing devices, an encoding device, and a container, in a virtualseparator encoding system according to particular embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary virtual separatorrejection-handling system according to particular embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a schematic representation showing exemplary communicationsbetween a sheet-accepting device, a sensor, an encoding device, acontainer, a reconciling device, and a processing device in a virtualseparator rejection-handling system according to particular embodiments.

FIG. 5A is a schematic representation showing an exemplary currencynote; and FIG. 5B is a schematic representation showing an exemplarycommercial ticket.

FIG. 6 is a schematic representation showing exemplary encoding on aside of an exemplary currency note.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing an exemplary virtual separator encodingprocess performed by a virtual separator encoding system according toparticular embodiments.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing an exemplary virtual separatorreconciling process performed by a virtual separator reconciliationsystem, according to particular embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a schematic representation showing a virtual separatorencoding system according to particular embodiments.

FIG. 10 is a schematic representation showing a virtual separatorencoding system according to particular embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The systems, methods, and media of the invention are suitable for usewith and may incorporate various components of the systems and methodsdisclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/260,744, filed on Apr.24, 2014, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/046,621, filed on Oct. 4,2013, patent application No. PCT/EP2008/008991, filed on Oct. 23, 2008;U.S. Pat. No. 7,377,423 B2, published on May 27, 2008; U.S. Pat. No.7,131,593 B2, published on Nov. 7, 2006; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,955,263,published on Oct. 18, 2005, the disclosures of which are herebyincorporated by reference in their entirety. Although many of theexemplary embodiments disclosed herein, as well as in these disclosures,are directed toward banking and accounting, the invention disclosedherein is not limited to applications in the field of banking andaccounting, but rather is applicable to a wide range of applications inthe financial services industry and beyond, including, but not limitedto, retail banking, retail commerce, currency exchanges, lawenforcement, central banking, clearing houses and processing ofcommercial paper, accounting, auditing, casino operations, gaming,transit agency operations, and many other fields.

Certain currency processing systems use physical separators insertedbetween each deposited set of notes in a rejected-note container inorder to keep track of which account those rejected notes wereassociated with. The physical separators often take the form of headercards, trailer cards, band strap images, or input package barcodes. Aninput package comprises a deposit that is presented for processing atthe currency processor system. An input package may vary in physicalnumber of objects it contains or it may be uniform in size. When thephysical separator is placed in the currency processing system, thesystem reads the information stored on the physical separator, such asaccount information, and associates notes that sequentially follow thephysical separator with a particular account identified in the accountinformation. The use of physical separators in reject-note containers,however, result in increased occurrences of mechanical malfunctions,including machine jams and hardware failures, and operator errors whilehandling the rejected notes and physical separators. The occurrences canalter the sequential ordering used to identify a particular account,resulting in loss of deposit integrity and account discrepancies. Inaddition, because the reason that each particular note was rejected isnot tracked, every note often undergoes a secondary human inspection,which results in a labor intensity problem and a loss of productivity.

Existing systems of currency object validation and reconciliation makereject handling complicated, manually intensive, and prone to mistakesand loss. Some of the challenges include:

-   -   1. The rejected currency objects must be handled        manually—sometimes several times.    -   2. Currency objects from a single deposit must be segregated by        deposit so that proper reconciliation can take place.    -   3. To prevent systematic theft, reconciliation is often done by        persons other than the original machine operator so that losses        cannot be “pushed forward.”        Currency objects refer to true currency bank notes as well as        objects that represent a monetary value.

To address these and other challenges, several schemes have beenemployed for keeping rejects separated by deposit. One uses “headercards” at the beginning of each deposit; a second uses “trailer cards”inserted at the end of each deposit. Both header and trailer cards serveas separators and are sent to a reject bin so that all subsequentrejects can be associated properly with the header/trailer card deposit.Another scheme uses a “reel” of film which captures all rejected notesfrom a single deposit and then “winds them” them into the reel.

Once the rejects are properly segregated, they can then be taken to a“reconciliation station” where the header/trailer card or reelcompartment identifies the input deposit and the associated banknotescan then be processed and results merged back to the processing systemdeposit information totals.

A number of things can go wrong in these reconciliation processes (forexample, physical handling—dropping or mixing together of severaldeposits worth of rejects and header cards onto the floor intermixed)and at best it is a slow, often manual process which is prone to humanerror.

Some banknote processing equipment contain a number of sensors thatcapture different types of banknote features during processing. In someapplications, the information captured is used in real-time to determinethe fate of the note (e.g., recycling, destruction or reject) and onlysummary data are captured from the sensors for use off-line.

Improvements in both data communications and data storage allow moreinformation to be extracted from each note processed (for example,image, serial number, sensor results, etc.). A complete data profile foreach note processed can create a huge amount of data (terabytes/hour),perhaps more than a high-resolution video camera that uses datacompression to reduce the redundant data in each frame. But for banknotereconciliation, compression is not required if each note is consideredunique.

The sensors used for processing banknotes perform a variety offunctions. For example, an image sensor may examine a note under variouswavelengths of light, looking for the presence/absence of visualfeatures and other complex tasks. The output of an image sensor can beas much as 10 MB (or more) per note, for example. A banknote processingmachine makes use of the various sensor outputs using one (or more)pre-determined formulas that can be “fine-tuned” according to thecircumstances. For example, the destruction of “soiled” notes can bedetermined according to the “clean money” policy of the Central Bank.Because every shredded note must be replaced with a newly printedbanknote, the economics of banknote destruction play a role in eachcountry. But in summary, as the data captured (or potentially captured)by the sensor “suite” has increased, technology may allow forimprovements such that it is feasible to capture an expanded set of datafor every banknote processed.

Central Banks can collect serial number information capture via BanknoteProcessing Equipment. Serial number capture has been available for mostcurrencies in high-speed equipment for some years now. Serial numbersare used to determine banknote age, origin (and distance from origin),frequency of processing (for example, tracking the number of times thesame bill has been processed), etc. Serial numbers are also captured fornotes destroyed so that if a banknote re-appears with the same number,an investigation as to authenticity/counterfeit can be requested.

How can the capture and storage of individual banknote sensorinformation help in banknote processing and, more specifically, in thehandling and management of rejects?

Each banknote, by definition, is unique. This is at least coming from aunique serial number, but because each note has traveled a differentroute to its ultimate inclusion in a deposit being processed, there willbe subtle differences among the notes.

Rejected banknotes and other currency objects are typically in poorphysical condition, such notes possibly being heavily soiled, stained,torn, limp, perhaps with holes, tape and folded corners. These rejectednotes may also have problems due to their physical conditions that causeissues when fed into the processing system that results in excessiveskew and/or multiple notes feeding in together at the same time.

Poor note condition makes it very difficult to find the uniqueidentifying features (such as, for example, serial numbers, couponnumbers, etc.) of every currency object processed by the system so thatthe deposit integrity can be ensured. This then drives the need for aphysical separator between the rejected objects for every input deposit.

Accordingly, particular configurations of the present invention addressthese and other problems by detecting characteristic information aboutthe sheet (e.g., serial number, value of the sheet, other uniquemarkings, accounting information, deposit information) existing on thesheet material (e.g., currency, commercial tickets, banknotes, checks,other sheets of value) and based on the characteristic information aboutthe sheet, if the information indicates that the sheet is anomalous(e.g., deformed, torn, damaged in other ways, improperly-sized, folded,stuck to another sheet, missing elements, composed of unexpectedmaterials or elements, counterfeit, unreadable by the machine), encodesthe sheet with anomaly information (e.g., indicates the nature of theanomaly, indicates the existence of an anomaly). Thus, the need forphysical separators in the reject-note container and while processingthe rejected notes can be eliminated in particular configurations.Further, the overall use of physical separators among all phases ofcurrency processing, including loading for initial processing as well asduring rejection-handling, can be greatly reduced or eliminatedentirely. Even further, the need for a secondary human inspection ofeach sheet can be eliminated for some or all sheets. Consequently,particular configurations of the present invention permit faster, moreefficient, less costly sheet-processing, and fewer accountingdiscrepancies because the need for physical separators has beeneliminated. In addition, particular configurations of the presentinvention allow for less human interaction by eliminating orsignificantly reducing the need for a secondary human inspection forsome or all sheets, at least because each sheet is separately encodedwith anomaly information. Also, particular configurations of the presentinvention eliminate the physical efforts required to handle and maintainan awkward or heavy reel device.

Configurations of the present disclosure may address these and otherareas of concern to allow each rejected currency object to be uniquelyidentified and, therefore, reduce or eliminate the need for a physicalseparator between rejected objects of each input deposit processed.Eliminating the requirement to feed, transport and stack the separatorsincreases the overall currency object processing throughput for thecustomer allowing increased productivity. The removal of the physicalseparator for reject handling further saves the customer the highexpense of the re-occurring costs for the header/trailer card or rejectreel materials, as a typical one shift process at a high volume CentralBank processing system can require up to 10,000 header or trailer cardsper run, and these cards can have less than a one month life cycle.

Particular configurations of the present invention further address theseand other problems by detecting the anomaly information on the sheetand, based on the anomaly information, determining whether to reconcilean account associated with the accounting information about the sheet,associating accounting information with an account in response todetermining whether to reconcile the account, and reconciling theaccount based on deposit information about the sheet. Thus, particularconfigurations of the present invention reduce accounting discrepancieswith less human interaction because the currency processing systemreconciles the account based on the anomaly information encoded on thesheet. Particular configurations of the present invention improve thehandling and reconciliation of rejects and, as an added benefit, reducehuman interaction with the banknotes and therefore create lessopportunity for mistakes or theft.

Exemplary configurations of the present invention provide methods,systems, and non-transitory computer-readable media for sheet materialprocessing and accounting. Particular configurations of the presentinvention, and their features and advantages, may be understood byreferring to FIGS. 1-10, like numerals being used for correspondingparts in the various drawings. It is to be understood that processesperformed by the various devices described herein and shown in FIGS.1-10 are not limited to the particular order of steps described herein,and the order of such steps may be rearranged where possible. Further,certain steps described herein may be performed in parallel, omitted, orperformed multiple times where appropriate.

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary virtual separator encoding system 100 inaccordance with certain configurations of the present invention. Virtualseparator encoding system 100 comprises a sheet-accepting device 101,sensors 102, an encoding device 103, and a container 104.

Sheet-accepting device 101 is configured to receive one or more sheets Nof sheet material, examples of which include: currency, banknotes,tickets, vouchers, checks, and other commercial or governmentally issuedmonetary instruments. In some configurations, the sheets N of sheetmaterial include sheets that contain input package identifiers, such as,for example, a header card, a trailer card, a band strap image, and aninput package barcode. Examples of machines employing sheet-acceptingdevices 101 include, for example: currency-counting machines, checkscanners, automated-teller machines, vending machines, ticket-redemptionmachines, change machines, table game bill acceptors, slot machines, andother mechanisms that accept sheets N of value.

Sensors 102 are configured to detect characteristic information aboutsheets N, including one or more of: serial numbers of sheets N, value ordenomination information of sheets N, series of sheets N, physicalattributes of sheets N, total number of sheets N or of particular groupsof sheets N, and the input package identifier, accounting informationabout the sheets N contained in the input package, deposit information,and accounting information, and other identification related to sheetsN. In some configurations, the input package identifier or accountinginformation may be detected from a header card, a trailer card, a bandstrap image, or an input package barcode. In other configurations, theinput package identifier or accounting information is indexed tometadata associated with a particular image file or other characteristicinformation about the sheet. In other such configurations, the use of aheader card, a trailer card, a band strap image, or an input packagebarcode is eliminated entirely. In some configurations, sensors areconfigured to detect only some of this information. In certainconfigurations, only one sensor 102 is incorporated into system 100. Inother configurations, a plurality of sensors 102 are incorporated intosystem 100. In particular configurations, sheet-accepting device 101includes sensors 102. In some configurations, sensors 102 are built intothe same device as the sheet-accepting device 101. In certainconfigurations, sheet-accepting device 101 and sensors 102 are separatebut configured to communicate therebetween. Examples of sensors 102include one or more of: an optical sensor, a magnetic sensor, aradio-frequency identification (“RFID”) sensor, an ultraviolet sensor, amechanical sensor, a virtual sensor, and an infrared sensor.

Encoding device 103 is configured to encode the sheet based on thecharacteristic information about the sheet. When the characteristicinformation about the sheet indicates that the sheet is anomalous (e.g.,the sheet cannot be detected by sensors 102, sensors 102 detect that thesheet is torn, folded, bent, glued to another sheet, heavily damaged, orcounterfeit), the encoding device is configured to encode the sheet withinformation about the sheet, including, for example, anomalyinformation, deposit information, and accounting information. Theanomaly information may include, for example, the reason that the systemindicated the sheet as anomalous, a flag indicating that the sheetrequires further processing. Examples of encoding device 103 include oneor more of: a printer including a laser printer and an ink printer, ahole puncher, a device using software to write a character to memory, alaser, a computer, and a writing utensil, including a pen, a pencil, ahighlighter, a punch, a stamp, an embosser, a marker, and any otherdevice capable of encoding a sheet at speeds required by the virtualseparator system, such as, for example, speeds of one to fifty sheetsper second or greater.

Container 104 is a container configured to receive the sheet. Container104 need not have physical separators or separate compartments, but insome configurations physical separators or separate compartments areused, for example for organization or storage reasons. Container 104 mayreceive sheets indicated as rejected (e.g., sheets encoded with anomalyinformation, sheets with anomalies detected by sensors 102, sheetsrandomly selected for further evaluation). In certain configurations,for example, container 104 is a system of containers, integrated orseparate, configured to receive and separate rejected sheets fromaccepted sheets. In some other configurations, container 104 is a systemof containers configured to sort sheets with particular anomalyinformation into a particular container. In yet other configurations,container 104 is compartmentalized and configured to sort sheets withparticular anomaly information into a particular compartment of thecontainer. In some configurations, container 104 is a pocket.

In some configurations, for example, one or more of sheet-acceptingdevice 101, sensors 102, encoding device 103, and container 104 arelinked by transport mechanisms such as belts, pneumatic conveyors, orother conveying mechanisms configured to transport sheet materials suchas currency notes between or within the devices. The transport pathbetween each device can be short and straight to minimize thepossibility of jamming or misfeeding. Open areas can be included in thetransport paths to provide access to sheets and to permit imaging ofboth sides of a sheet.

In some other configurations, for example, one or more ofsheet-accepting device 101, sensors 102, encoding device 103, andcontainer 104 are included within a single exterior housing having adisplay and an input device for inputting data or commands (notdepicted). In some yet other configurations, one or more ofsheet-accepting device 101, sensors 102, encoding device 103, andcontainer 104 are the same device.

FIG. 2 shows exemplary detail for sheet-accepting device 101, sensors102, encoding device 103, and container 104, and each device's abilityto communicate with each other. Sheet-accepting device 101 includes aninput mechanism 201 configured to receive a sheet N therein. Inparticular configurations, input mechanism 201 is a slot with rollersconfigured to transport sheets N inserted therein into sheet-acceptingdevice 101. Further, sheet-accepting device 101 includes a transportmechanism 202, which may be a series of rollers or other elementssuitable for transporting a sheet N, configured to transport sheets N tosensors 102 (e.g., a first sensor) and encoding device 103. Inparticular configurations, input mechanism 201 is configured to accept aplurality of sheets N at once and at least one of input mechanism 201and transport mechanism 202 is configured to separate the plurality ofsheets N, so that only one sheet N at a time is transported to sensors102. In this manner, sensors 102 are able to accurately detectinformation of all of the plurality of sheets N.

When transport mechanism 202 transports a sheet N to sensors 102,sensors 102 detect characteristic information about sheet N. Thecharacteristic information about sheet N includes, for example, a serialnumber and a value (e.g., denomination) of sheet N; as well as otherinformation including, for example, a series of sheet N; physicalattributes of sheet N including dimensions, weight, opacity, andtexture; and the presence of other identifiers, such as magnetic strips,ink, bar codes or other recognition patterns, holograms, punch marks,and RFID circuits. Other marking mediums may be present on sheet N,including both visible marks and marks not visible to the human eye,including ultraviolet markings or infrared markings. In particularconfigurations, sensors 102 include, for example: an optical sensor 204,a magnetic sensor 205, an RFID sensor 206, an ultraviolet sensor 207, aninfrared sensor 208, a mechanical sensor 209, a virtual sensor 210, anda chemical sensor 211.

Optical sensor 204 may be a camera or scanner, for example, that recordsan optical image of each sheet N, which is thereafter processed bysheet-accepting device 101 or encoding device 103 or transmitted toanother device for processing to extract at least a portion of theinformation of the sheet. In particular configurations, for example,sheet-accepting device 101 is able to determine at least the serialnumber and value of sheet N from the optical image of sheet N internallyor at a remote device. Magnetic sensor 205 detects magnetic ink ormagnetic features on sheet N that provide information of sheet N, suchas a magnetic strip that identifies the denomination of currency ormagnetic ink that identifies account and routing numbers on checks.Because sheets N may not be appropriately separated during processing,magnetic sensor 205, which is able to detect magnetic signals through aplurality of overlapped sheets N, provides redundancy for obtaininginformation that is difficult for optical sensor 204 to obtain whensheet-separating errors occur. RFID sensor 206 detects RFID circuits onsheet N that also provides information of sheet N and provides furtherredundancy for optical sensor 204. Ultraviolet sensor 207 detectsultraviolet markings on sheet N that also provides information of sheetN and provides further redundancy for optical sensor 204. Similarly,infrared sensor 208 detects infrared markings on sheet N that alsoprovide information of sheet N and provides further redundancy foroptical sensor 204. Mechanical sensor 209 detects mechanical propertiesof sheet N that also provides information of sheet N and providesfurther redundancy for optical sensor 204. Virtual sensor 210 virtuallydetects properties and characteristics of sheet N that provideinformation about sheet N and provides redundancy for optical sensor204. Chemical sensor 211 detects chemical properties of sheet N thatalso provides information about sheet N and provides redundancy foroptical sensor 204. In some configurations, sensors 102 include only oneof optical sensor 204, magnetic sensor 205, RFID sensor 206, ultravioletsensor 207, infrared sensor 208, mechanical sensor 209, virtual sensor210, and chemical sensor 211. In other configurations, sensors 102include various combinations of optical sensor 204, magnetic sensor 205,RFID sensor 206, ultraviolet sensor 207, infrared sensor 208, mechanicalsensor 209, virtual sensor 210, and chemical sensor 211 and othersensors able to detect information of sheets N.

In some configurations, sensors 102 are configured to detectreconciliation information about the sheet, including one or more ofdeposit information about sheet N, including how many sheets areassociated with a particular account, and accounting information aboutsheet N, including with which account an input package identifier isassociated.

After sensors 102 have detected the characteristic information aboutsheet N, if the characteristic information detected by sensors 102indicates that the sheet is anomalous, transport mechanism 202transports sheet N to encoding device 103 that includes a marking device212 configured to encode the sheet. Further, encoding device 103includes a transport mechanism 213, which may be a series of rollers orother elements able to transport a sheet N, configured to transportsheets N to a container 104. Encoding device 103 is configured to encodethe sheet based on the characteristic information about the sheet. Whenthe characteristic information about the sheet indicates that the sheetis anomalous, for example if the sheet cannot be detected by sensors102, the sheet is torn, folded, bent, glued to another sheet, heavilydamaged, or counterfeit, encoding device 103 is configured to encode thesheet. The sheet may be marked with anomaly information, including forexample the reason that the system indicated that the sheet isanomalous, which flags the sheet for further processing. Furtherprocessing includes, for example, disposing of the sheet, shredding thesheet, running the sheet through the virtual separator encoding system asecond time, reconciling an account based on the sheet, contactingauthorities because the sheet is counterfeit, imaging the sheet forprocessing in software, and further human inspection.

In certain configurations, serial number data is assessed against acounterfeit registry for verification at various times duringsheet-processing and handling. As used herein, the term “serial number”corresponds to a specific marking on or in the sheet that identifies aparticular sheet of the sheet material. For example, if identical serialnumbers are processed within a specific period of time (e.g., 24 hours),then a monitoring system may be activated (e.g., E-Connect) to observethe flow of the suspect sheets (e.g., counterfeit currency, counterfeitcommercial tickets, counterfeit banknotes, counterfeit checks, othercounterfeit sheets of value). Using the data collected, an origin ofsuch suspect sheets can be traced to a particular asset on a particulardate at a particular time, and the subsequent flow of such suspectsheets through, for example, a casino or a financial institution can betracked.

In some configurations, encoding device 103 is configured to encode thesheet with reconciliation information about the sheet, including one ormore of deposit information about sheet N, including how many sheets areassociated with a particular account, and accounting information aboutsheet N, including with which account an input package identifier isassociated.

In some configurations, encoding device 103 is configured to encode thesheet with a random marking, which can be matched up to a data stream.In some configurations, encoding device 103 is configured to encode thesheet with a significant marking, which can relate to a specific failurecode.

In some configurations, encoding device 103 is configured to encode thesheet by marking the sheet with a physical marking. The physical markingmay take the form of a recognition pattern, including a code pattern, abarcode, a dot matrix, a dot pattern, one or more dots, one or morelines, a vertical bar, words, numbers, symbols, and any other encodingscheme that is suitable to function in a system with transport speeds ofone to fifty sheets per second or greater. In some configurations,encoding device 103 is configured to encode the sheet using a means foraltering a surface of the sheet, including for example, hole-punching,cutting, folding, embossing, engraving, or etching the sheet. In someconfigurations, encoding device 103 is configured to encode the sheetusing a marking medium that is visible to the human eye, including colorink, black ink, gel ink, phosphorescent fluids, other fluids, paint, andburn marks. In some configurations, encoding device 103 is configured toencode the sheet using a marking medium that is not visible to the humaneye, including RFID markings, ultraviolet markings, and infraredmarkings. In some configurations, encoding device 103 is configured toapply a marking medium to both a first side of the sheet and a secondside of the sheet.

In some configurations, encoding device 103 is configured to encode thesheet using a non-physical marking process. In such configurations, forexample, encoding device 103 further comprises a memory that isconfigured to store in the memory one or more of the characteristicinformation about the sheet, the anomaly information about the sheet,the accounting information about the sheet, the deposit informationabout the sheet, image data of an image of the sheet, and metadata ofthe image of the sheet. In particular configurations, the memory is anRFID tag. In other exemplary configurations, the memory is one or moreof a solid state memory component, a hard drive, a magnetic tag orcomponent, and an optical marking.

In some configurations, the means used to encode the sheet can beassociated with the optical image of the currency object itself withrespect to a unique identifier. For example, a bank note serial numberdetected by a optical image sensor can associated with a bar code on thebank note itself to further strengthen the integrity link between thebank note and the deposit input package from which it was processed.

In some configurations, encoding device 103 also includes a memorywriting device, such as an RFID tag, and an input/output (“I/O”) device214. The memory writing device is configured to write information to thememory coupled to encoding device 103. In exemplary configurations, thememory writing device is one or more of a magnetic encoder, a printer, awireless or hard-wired interface with the memory, an RFID tag, and anyother device able to write information to the memory. I/O device 214 isconfigured to provide a communications interface between encoding device103 and other devices, particular databases, and other devices involvedin monitoring, controlling, managing, accounting, and auditingprocesses.

After encoding device 103 has encoded sheet N, transport mechanism 213transports sheet N to container 104. In some configurations, transportmechanism 213 is the same as transport mechanism 202. In someconfigurations, container 104 is permanently affixed to sheet-acceptingdevice 101. In other configurations, container 104 is a removablecontainer that can be separated from sheet-accepting device 101, andcontainer 104 is able to be sealed and locked, so that the sheets Ndisposed therein may not be tampered with or removed during transport.

In some configurations, sheet N is encoded with information indicatingwhy sheet N was rejected and sent to container 104, for example arejection pocket that holds sheet N to be reprocessed or reconciledduring a secondary process. For example, sheet N does not meet thesensor evaluation criteria to correctly designate sheet N as “fit,”“unfit,” or “shred” objects, sheet N can be marked with a coded patternidentifying all depositor and reject information associated with sheet Nand sent to a reject pocket to await further processing. This allows allrejected currency objects to be contained together without the need forany physical separator or overall required sequence.

Each sheet N that has not been encoded (e.g., because sheet N is notanomalous) does not get transported to container 104, but rather istransported to another location separate from container 104 for furtherprocessing or storage. For example, each encoded sheet N that has beentransported to container 104 need not have any physical separatorbetween each sheet N in in container 104, such that each encoded sheet Ncan touch an adjacent sheet N. In alternative configurations, one ormore physical separators may be used to separate each sheet N or aparticular group of sheets N in container 104.

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary virtual separator rejection-handling system300 in accordance with certain configurations of the present invention.Virtual separator rejection-handling system 300 comprisessheet-accepting device 101, sensors 102, encoding device 103, andcontainer 104, as depicted in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, and further comprises areconciling device 301, sensors 302, and a processing device 303.

Reconciling device 301 is configured to receive one or more sheets N ofsheet material from container 104, examples of which include: currency,banknotes, tickets, vouchers, checks, and other commercial orgovernmentally issued monetary instruments. In some configurations, thesheets N of sheet material include sheets that contain input packageidentifiers, including a header card, a trailer card, a band strapimage, and an input package barcode. In some configurations,reconciliation device and the sheet-accepting device are the samedevice. Examples of reconciling devices 301 include: currency-countingmachines, check scanners, automated-teller machines, vending machines,ticket-redemption machines, change machines, table game bill acceptors,and other mechanisms that accept sheets N of value. In someconfigurations, reconciling device 301 includes one or more of sensors302 and processing device 303. In some configurations, sheets N can bereceived from a container that holds all of sheets N together withoutseparating sheets N.

In particular configurations, where container 104 is movable, container104 can be loaded directly into reconciling device 301. In other suchconfigurations, container 104 can facilitate loading of sheets N storedin container 104 into reconciling device 301.

Sensors 302 are configured to be in communication with reconcilingdevice 301. Sensors 302 are configured to detect anomaly informationabout sheets N, including the reason that sheets N were rejected (e.g.,deformed, torn, damaged in other ways, improperly-sized, folded, stuckto another sheet, missing elements, composed of unexpected materials orelements, counterfeit, unreadable by the machine, or that suchinformation is unavailable). For example, sensors 302 can read markings(e.g., corresponding to anomaly information, accounting information, ordeposit information) on a sheet to obtain information about the sheet.Sensors 302 can be configured to detect characteristic information aboutsheets N, including one or more of: serial numbers of sheets N, value ordenomination information of sheets N, series of sheets N, physicalattributes of sheets N, total number of sheets N or of particular groupsof sheets N, the input package identifier, accounting information aboutthe sheets N contained in the input package, and other identification,deposit, and accounting information related to sheets N. In someconfigurations, sensors are configured to detect only some of thisinformation. In some configurations, sensors 302 are only one sensor. Insome configurations, sensors 302 and sensors 102 are the same sensors.In other configurations, sensors 302 and sensors 102 are separatesensors. Examples of sensors 302 include one or more of: an opticalsensor, a magnetic sensor, a RFID sensor, an ultraviolet sensor, and aninfrared sensor.

In some configurations, sensors 302 are configured to capture the imageof sheet N and record the image. In some configurations, sensors 302 arefurther configured to detect one or more of anomaly information andcharacteristic information about sheet N, including for example anyunique identifiers associated with sheet N. For example, sensors 302 cancapture the image of a currency object, the bar code printed on thecurrency object that identifies why the system rejected the currencyobject, and the serial number of the currency object. In someconfigurations, one or more of the image of sheet N, anomaly informationencoded on sheet N, and characteristic information about sheet N arestored to a memory, for example in a database, and associated with thecorrect depositor's input package.

In some configurations, the anomaly information encoded on sheet Ndirectly contains the depositor's input package information. In thisconfiguration, if the anomaly information is read correctly during thereprocessing that includes the reconciling process, the system may usethe depositor's input package information included in the anomalyinformation to perform the reconciling process.

Processing device 303 is configured to determine, based on the anomalyinformation detected by sensors 302, whether to reconcile an accountassociated with the accounting information about the sheet, detected bysensors 302. Processing device 303 is further configured to associatethe accounting information about the sheet with the account in responseto determining whether to reconcile the account. An account can bereconciled if the sheet is going to be disposed of or shredded, forexample because the sheet is torn, glued to another sheet, heavilydamaged, or counterfeit. Processing device 303 is further configured toreconcile the account associated with the accounting information basedon the deposit information about the sheet. For example, reconciling theaccount may include crediting an account for a currency note or banknotebecause the note was in fact deposited but is too damaged for sensors102 to read. As another example, reconciling the account may includecrediting an account for a currency note or bank note by calculating thenumber of sheets that sensors 102 detected, determining based off theamount of money that should have been deposited into the account, andcrediting the account based off of what denomination that note is. Asanother example, reconciling the account includes detecting thedenomination of the currency note or bank note and crediting the accountfor that note. In some configurations, processing device 303 isconfigured to reconcile the account associated with the accountinginformation based on the characteristic information about the sheet,such as the serial number or value of the sheet. Thus, in this example,reconciling the account can include determining the denomination of acurrency note or banknote and crediting the account for that amount ofmoney. Examples of processing device 303 include one or more of: aprocessor, a computer, an accounting system, and accounting software.

In some configurations, one or more of sheet-accepting device 101,sensors 102, encoding device 103, container 104, reconciling device 301,sensors 302, and processing device 303 are linked by transportmechanisms such as belts, pneumatic conveyors, or other conveyingmechanisms capable of transporting sheet materials such as currencynotes between or within the devices. The transport path between eachdevice can be short and straight to minimize the possibility of jammingor misfeeding. Open areas can be included in the transport paths toprovide access to sheets and to permit imaging of both sides of a sheet.

In some other configurations, one or more of sheet-accepting device 101,sensors 102, encoding device 103, container 104, reconciling device 301,sensors 302, and processing device 303 are included within a singleexterior housing having a display and an input device for inputting dataor commands (not depicted). In yet other configurations, one or more ofsheet-accepting device 101, sensors 102, encoding device 103, container104, reconciling device 301, sensors 302, and processing device 303 arethe same device.

In some configurations, sensors 302 can be configured to detect multipleforms of information about sheet N, including anomaly information andcharacteristic information about sheet N. For example, if a bar codeidentifying why a banknote was rejected cannot be detected by sensors302, sensors 302 can detect characteristic information about sheet N,including for example the serial number of sheet N or the denominationof sheet N. In some configurations, processing device 303 can beconfigured to store to the memory, for example a database, thecharacteristic information about sheet N that sensors 302 detected,cross-referencing information or data already stored in the memory withthe characteristic information about sheet N. In a further example, if acurrency object could not be encoded because of a severe skew ormulti-feed condition during the encoding process, then either a secondunique identifier, for example a serial number or magnetic strip, of thecurrency object can be cross referenced to data detected and recordedfrom sheet N during the initial encoding process.

In some configurations, if sensors 302 cannot detect anomaly informationabout sheet N, processing device 303 can be configured to determineinformation about sheet N by associating sheet N with the sheet that wasrun through the system before sheet N or the sheet that was run throughthe system after sheet N. In some configurations, the information aboutthe sheet before sheet N or the information about the sheet after sheetN can be stored to the memory, for example a database, andcross-referenced with sheet N. For example, if both anomaly informationand characteristic information is missing from sheet N, perhaps becausesheet N is too heavily damaged, the system can associate the anomalyinformation or characteristic information of either the sheet beingprocessed immediately before or immediately following sheet N. If anyinput deposit identifying information of the sheets that are beingprocessed immediately before sheet N and immediately after sheet N arethe same, then the system can determine that sheet N's input depositidentifying information is also the same and associate the informationwith sheet N, for example by storing the information to a database.

In some configurations, if issues arise during the reconciling process,the system can read information associated with sheet N from the memory,for example a database, and that information can be used to reconcilethe account. For example, in an unusual case, any information detectedby sensors 302 about sheet N, including for example anomaly information,characteristic information, and input deposit identifier information,can be used to resolve any unusual reconciliation issues.

In some configurations, the reconciling process comprises reading one ormore of an image of sheet N and characteristic information about sheet Nfrom memory, for example a database, and associating the image of sheetN with the characteristic information about sheet N. For example,anomaly information or characteristic information about sheet N, forexample the serial number of sheet N, detected by sensors 302 can becross-referenced with other information about sheet N, for example imagedata, stored in memory. This process can allow the system to uniquelyidentify what deposit the rejected sheet originally was associated with,and maintain deposit integrity. Deposit integrity, generally speaking,refers to maintaining the correct physical count of the total currencyobjects and denominations or value of those objects that are containedwithin a customer's deposit.

In some configurations, the reconciling process can include reprocessingcurrency objects so that upon completion, every object from everydeposit input package is fully accounted for in terms of quantity, forexample number of sheets N, and value, for example the value of currencyobjects the deposit input package was said to contain when it wasinputted into the system matches the value of currency objects actuallybeing deposited. In some configurations, the reprocessing of sheet N cantake place in a second processing pass through the system that encodedthe sheet originally. In some configurations, the reprocessing of sheetN can take place in a separate system configured only to processrejected sheets N.

FIG. 4 shows sheet-accepting device 101, sensors 102, encoding device103, and container 104, as depicted in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, andreconciling device 301, and processing device 303, and each device'sability to communicate with each other. Although FIG. 4 depicts certainconfigurations where reconciling device 301 communicates with sensors102, it is understood that in various configurations, reconciling device301 will communicate with sensors 302 separate from sensors 102, and thesame functionality as that described below is also achieved in suchconfigurations.

Reconciling device 301 includes an input mechanism 401 configured toreceive a sheet N therein. In particular configurations, input mechanism401 is a slot with rollers configured to transport sheets N insertedtherein into reconciling device 301. Further, reconciling device 301includes a transport mechanism 402, which may be a series of rollers orother elements able to transport a sheet N, configured to transportsheets N to sensors 302 (e.g., a second sensor) and processing device303. In some configurations, sensors 302 and sensors 102 are the samesensors. In particular configurations, input mechanism 401 is configuredto accept a plurality of sheets N at once and at least one of inputmechanism 401 and transport mechanism 402 is configured to separate theplurality of sheets N, so that only one sheet N at a time is transportedto sensors 302. In this manner, sensors 302 are able to accuratelydetect information of all of the plurality of sheets N. In someconfigurations, reconciling device 301 and sheet-accepting device 101are the same device.

When transport mechanism 402 transports a sheet N to sensors 302,sensors 302 are configured to detect anomaly information about sheets N,including the reason that sheets N were rejected (e.g., that the sheetcannot be detected by sensors 302, or that the sheet is torn, folded,bent, stuck to another sheet, heavily damaged, or counterfeit). In someconfigurations, sensors 302 are configured to detect characteristicinformation about sheet N, including a serial number of sheet N and avalue (e.g., denomination) of sheet N; as well as other informationincluding, for example, a series of sheet N; physical attributes ofsheet N including dimensions, weight, opacity, and texture; and thepresence of other identifiers, such as magnetic strips, ink, bar codesor other recognition patterns, holograms, punch marks, and RFIDcircuits, or other marking mediums present on sheet N, including bothvisible marks and marks not visible to the human eye, includingultraviolet markings or infrared markings, reconciliation informationabout the sheet, including one or more of deposit information aboutsheet N, including how many sheets are associated with a particularaccount, and accounting information about sheet N, including whataccount an input package identifier is associated with, and otheridentification, deposit, and accounting information related to sheets N.In particular configurations, sensors 302 include one or more of: anoptical sensor 204, a magnetic sensor 205, an RFID sensor 206, anultraviolet sensor 207, an infrared sensor 208, a mechanical sensor 209,a virtual sensor 210, and a chemical sensor 211. Optical sensor 204records an optical image of each sheet N, which is thereafter processedby processing device 303 or transmitted to another device for processingto extract at least a portion of the information of the sheet. Inparticular configurations, for example, processing device 303 is able todetermine a combination of the anomaly information, reconciliationinformation including the accounting information and the depositinformation, and the serial number and value of sheet N from the opticalimage of sheet N internally or at a remote device. In someconfigurations, sensors 302 include only one of optical sensor 204,magnetic sensor 205, RFID sensor 206, ultraviolet sensor 207, infraredsensor 208, mechanical sensor 209, virtual sensor 210, and chemicalsensor 211. In other configurations, sensors 302 include variouscombinations of optical sensor 204, magnetic sensor 205, RFID sensor206, ultraviolet sensor 207, infrared sensor 208, mechanical sensor 209,virtual sensor 210, and chemical sensor 211, and other sensors able todetect information of sheets N. In some configurations where a mark isnot visible to the human eye, a special sensor designed for that specialfeature detection can be used to detect the mark.

After sensors 302 have detected the characteristic information encodedon sheet N or characteristic information about the sheet N indicatingthat sheet N is anomalous, processing device 303 is configured todetermine whether to reconcile an account associated with the accountinginformation detected by sensors 302. In particular configurations,processing device 303 is further configured to determine, based on theanomaly information, whether to perform a reconciling process. Thereconciling process associates accounting information about sheet N,which identifies an account that sheet N was intended to be depositedinto, with the account. Once the account is known, the reconcilingprocess credits the account. For example, the accounting informationencoded on sheet N may include a bank account number or another uniqueidentifier for a financial account, and the reconciling process wouldcredit the bank account associated with that account number with thedeposited money. For example, if a currency note is counterfeit andneeds to be taken out of circulation and reported to the government, abank may still want to credit the unknowing depositor's account for thatnote, thus preventing accounting discrepancies. As another example, if acurrency note is so old or badly damaged that the note needs to be takenout of circulation or shredded, a bank may want to remove or shred thenote, but still credit the unknowing depositor's account for that note,again preventing accounting discrepancies.

In some configurations, the reconciling process performed by processingdevice 303 credits the account based on deposit information about sheetN, including how many sheets N were deposited, how much money wasintended to be deposited into the account, and other information aboutthe group of sheets N that were deposited together. For example, in suchconfiguration, the process may take the amount of money that wasintended to be deposited, and the number of currency notes actuallydeposited, to determine what value the anomalous note is and credit theaccount for that amount. An illustration of that process is that, if theintended amount to be deposited is $500, but the total deposit receivedis $480, and one currency note is too damaged to be read, thereconciling process determines that the missing note is a $20 note andcredit the account with the additional $20, to bring the deposit totalto $500 and eliminate any account discrepancies.

In some configurations, the reconciling process performed by processingdevice 303 credits the account based on characteristic information aboutsheet N, including the value of sheet N. For example, in such aconfiguration, if a note that goes through a currency processing machineis torn and therefore rejected from the machine, the reconciling processuses the value of the note that was detected from the note to credit theaccount for the value of the note, eliminating any accountdiscrepancies.

In some configurations, reconciling device 301 also includes an I/Odevice 403. I/O device 403 is configured to provide a communicationsinterface between reconciling device 301 and other devices, particulardatabases, and other devices involved in monitoring, controlling,managing, accounting, and auditing processes.

FIG. 5A shows an exemplary currency note 500. Currency note 500 includesa name of issuing government 501, a magnetic strip 502, a serial number503, a series 504, and a value or denomination 505. Certain currencynotes 500 include holograms and other characteristic markings. Serialnumber 503 is a unique number that uniquely distinguishes a currencynote 500 from other currency notes 500 of the same denomination andseries issued by the issuing government identified by name of issuinggovernment 501. Further, magnetic strip 502 is encoded with informationabout currency note 500, which can include one or more of name ofissuing government 501, serial number 503, series 504, and value ordenomination 505. In some configurations, certain of elements 501-505,such as serial number 503 or denomination 505 are printed with magneticink. Moreover, currency note 500 can contain other markings or featuresthat can provide additional information to sensors 302.

FIG. 5B shows a Ticket In-Ticket Out (“TITO”) ticket 550, which is anexemplary commercial ticket. Exemplary TITO ticket 550 includes a nameof the issuing entity 551, a ticket identifier 552, a bar code 553, aserial number 554, a date and time of issuance 555, a value ordenomination 556, a ticket number 557, and an asset number 558. Serialnumber 554 is a unique number that uniquely distinguishes a particularTITO ticket 550 from other circulating TITO tickets 550 issued by theissuing entity identified by name of issuing entity 551. In particularconfigurations, bar code 553 is a coded version of serial number 554. Insome configurations, bar code 553 is a coded version of otherinformation or a combination of information, such as, for example, somecombination of elements 551-552 and 554-558. Asset number 558corresponds to the device that issued TITO ticket 500. As depicted inFIG. 5B, ticket number 557 indicates that TITO ticket 550 was the 359thticket issued by the device corresponding to asset number 1514. In someconfigurations, TITO ticket 550 is dimensioned similar to local currencyto facilitate processing by sheet-accepting device 101. In otherconfigurations, TITO ticket is dimensioned differently from the localcurrency so that TITO ticket 550 is readily distinguishable from thelocal currency. In particular configurations, certain of elements551-558, such as serial number 554 or value 556, are printed withmagnetic ink for the purpose of redundancy and to facilitate detectionby sensors 302. Moreover, TITO ticket 550 may contain other markings orfeatures that can provide additional information described above tosensors 302.

FIG. 6 shows exemplary encoding of a short side an exemplary currencynote 600, the exemplary currency note 600 having similar characteristicsto those described above with respect to currency note 500. Inparticular configurations, encoding device 103 is configured to encodethe currency note 600 with anomaly information 602, including, forexample, the reason that currency note 600 was rejected by the system.In some configurations, encoding device 103 is configured to encode thecurrency note 600 with reconciliation information 601, includingaccounting information or deposit information about currency note 600.For example, currency note 600 may be encoded by marking, etching,embossing, embedding, engraving, printing, burning, or stamping.

In some configurations, encoding device 103 is configured to encode oneor more instances of one side of currency note 600, including one of ashort side, an intermediate side, and a long side. In someconfigurations, encoding device is configured to encode multiple sidesof currency note 600. In some configurations, encoding device 103 isconfigured to encode multiple instances of the same side of currencynote 600. In some configurations, encoding device 103 is configured toencode both a front side and a back side of currency note 600. Thelength of the encoding can vary, including the range of very short tovery long.

FIG. 7 shows a virtual separator encoding process performed by asheet-accepting device 101, sensors 102, encoding device 103, andcontainer 104. In step 701, input mechanism 201 in sheet-acceptingdevices 101 receives one or more sheets N inserted by, for example, aperson or machine. In some configurations, one or more of inputmechanism 201 and transport mechanism 202 separates sheets N when aplurality of sheets is inserted therein. Transport mechanism 202transports sheet N to sensors 102.

In step 702, sensors 102 detect characteristic information about sheetN, including: a value or denomination of sheet N, such as value 505 ofcurrency note 500 or value 556 of TITO ticket 550; a series orequivalent information of sheet N, such as series 504 of currency note500 or asset number 558 of TITO ticket 550; a serial number of sheet N,such as serial number 503 of currency note 500 or serial number 554 ofTITO ticket 550; physical attributes of sheet N, such the dimensions,texture, weight, and composition of currency note 500 or TITO ticket550; other identifiers of sheet N, such as name of issuing entity 551,type of sheet 552, bar code 553, date of issue 555, and ticket number557 of TITO ticket 550 or name of issuing government 501 and magneticstrip 503 of currency note 500; and reconciliation information aboutsheet N, including accounting information and deposit information.Further, sheet-accepting device 101 can store time and date informationidentifying the time and date each sheet N was inserted into inputmechanism 201. In particular configurations, for example, sensors 102detect portions of information of sheet N by one or more of capturing anoptical image of sheet N with optical sensor 204 and performing opticalcharacter recognition processes and detecting magnetically encodedmarkings or features, such as magnetic strip 502 in currency note 500,and subsequently decoding the information encoded therein. In particularconfigurations, sheet-accepting device 101 performs such opticalcharacter recognition and decoding processes. In other configurations,such optical character recognition and decoding processes are performedby an external device. Transport mechanism 202 transports sheet N toencoding device 103.

In step 703, encoding device 103 encodes the sheet based oncharacteristic information about sheet N detected by sensors 102.Encoding device 103 encodes sheet N, using marking device 212, withanomaly information when the characteristic information about sheet Nindicates that sheet N is anomalous. The anomaly information flags sheetN for further processing. In some configurations, encoding device 103encodes sheet N, using marking device 212, with reconciliationinformation, including accounting information and deposit information.In some configurations, encoding device 103 applies a marking medium toboth a first side of the sheet and a second side of the sheet. In step704, transport mechanism 213 transports sheet N to container 204. Insome configurations the anomaly information includes reconciliationinformation including one or more of the accounting information and thedeposit information. The anomaly information can optionally includeother information, such as a flag for further processing or informationabout the anomaly, in such configurations.

In some configurations, encoding the sheet comprises storing to a memoryone or more of: the characteristic information about the sheet,including the serial number and value of the sheet; the anomalyinformation about the sheet, including the reason that the systemrejected sheet N as anomalous; the accounting information about thesheet, including the account that the deposit was intended for; thedeposit information about the sheet, including the number of sheets Ndeposited in the group of sheets N deposited; image data of an image ofthe sheet; and metadata of the image of the sheet. In someconfigurations, the memory comprises a database or database systemstored in a memory.

In some configurations, container 104 can have one or more compartments.The compartments can be used to each contain a particular group ofsheets with particular anomaly information. In these configurations, thevirtual separator encoding process can further comprise the step ofsorting sheet N into one of the compartments based on the anomalyinformation detected by the first sensor. For example, container 104 mayhave separate compartments for counterfeit currency and damagedcurrency. In some configurations, container 104 can be a system ofcontainers. The containers can be used to each contain a particulargroup of sheets with particular anomaly information. In theseconfigurations, the virtual separator encoding process can furthercomprise the step of sorting sheet N into one of the containers 104 inthe system of containers based on the anomaly information detected bythe first sensor. For example, container 104 may have separatecontainers for counterfeit currency and damaged currency.

FIG. 8 shows a virtual separator reconciling process/rejection handlingperformed by reconciling device 301, sensors 302, and processing device303. In step 801, transport mechanism 402 transports sheet N toreconciling device 301. In step 802, input mechanism 401 in reconcilingdevice 301 receives one or more sheets N inserted by a person ormachine. In some configurations, one or more of input mechanism 401 andtransport mechanism 402 separates sheets N when the person or machineinserts a plurality of sheets. Transport mechanism 402 transports eachsheet to either sensors 102 or sensors 302, depending on theconfiguration.

In step 803, sensors 302 detect anomaly information, which can include,for example, the reason that sheet N was rejected. For example, sensors302 detect anomaly information 602 about currency note 600. In someconfigurations, sensors 302 detect reconciliation information, includingaccounting information and deposit information about the sheet. Forexample, sensors 302 detect reconciliation information 601 aboutcurrency note 600. In some configurations, sensors 302 detectcharacteristic information about sheet N, including: a serial number ofsheet N and a value (e.g., denomination) of sheet N; a series of sheetN; physical attributes of sheet N; and the presence of otheridentifiers, such as magnetic strips, ink, bar codes or otherrecognition patterns, holograms, punch marks, and RFID circuits, orother marking mediums present on sheet N, including both visible marksand marks not visible to the human eye, including ultraviolet markingsor infrared markings. Transport mechanism 402 transports each sheet toprocessing device 303.

In step 804, processing device 303 determines, based on the anomalyinformation detected by sensors 302, whether to reconcile an accountassociated with the accounting information about the sheet, detected bysensors 302. In step 805, processing device 303 associates theaccounting information about the sheet with the account in response todetermining that the account is to be reconciled.

In step 806, processing device 303 reconciles the account associatedwith the accounting information based on the deposit information aboutthe sheet. In some configurations, processing device 303 is configuredto reconcile the account associated with the accounting informationbased on the characteristic information about the sheet obtained bysensors 302, including for example the serial number or value of thesheet.

In some configurations, one or more of steps 801-806 comprises readingfrom a memory one or more of: the characteristic information about thesheet, including the serial number and value of the sheet; the anomalyinformation about the sheet, including the reason that the systemrejected sheet N as anomalous; the accounting information about thesheet, including the account that the deposit was intended for; thedeposit information about the sheet, including the number of sheets Ndeposited in the group of sheets N deposited; image data of an image ofthe sheet; and metadata of the image of the sheet. In someconfigurations, the information and data will be read from a databasesystem. In some configurations, the information and data will be linkedin the memory or database system such that processing device 303 canaccess one piece of information or data and know where in memory or thedatabase system to find the linked accounting information, which caninclude an account number. Processing device 303 uses the information ordata read from the memory or database system to reconcile the account.

FIG. 9 shows an exemplary system 900 for processing a sheet of sheetmaterial. System 900 includes one or more of: a memory 901, a CPU 902,and an I/O device 903. Memory 901 can store computer-readableinstructions that can instruct CPU 902 to perform certain processes.Memory 901 may comprise, for example, random access memory (“RAM”),read-only memory (“ROM”), erasable programmable read-only memory(“EPROM”), an electronically erasable programmable read-only memory(“EEPROM”), Flash memory, or any suitable combination thereof. Whenexecuted by CPU 902, the computer-readable instructions stored in memory901 instruct CPU 902 to operate as one or more devices configured toperform particular functions. In certain configurations, memory 901stores computer-readable instructions for performing any and allfunctions or processes described herein, and CPU 902 executes suchcomputer-readable instructions and operate as one or more devicesconfigured to perform or control such functions or processes.

FIG. 10 shows an exemplary virtual separator encoding system 100,comprising sheet-accepting device 101, with transport mechanism 202,sensors 102, encoding device 103, transport mechanism 213, and container104.

CPU 902 is configured to execute the computer-readable instructionsstored in memory 901 so that the computer-readable instructions instructCPU 902 to perform or control a plurality of processes including, butnot limited to, one or more of the processes described with respect toFIGS. 7 and 8 and any other process described herein. Accordingly, CPU902 can be configured to perform a variety of processes, as discussed inmore detail below. CPU 902 may be, for example, a processor, acontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (“ASIC”), or asystem comprising a plurality of processors, controllers, or ASICs.

As shown in FIG. 9, I/O device 903 is configured to receive one or moreof data from sheet-accepting device 101, data from one or more otherdevices from reconciling device 301, and input from a user and providesuch information to CPU 902 and/or memory 901. I/O device 903 isconfigured to transmit data to one or more external devices in order totransmit or otherwise render information to a user (e.g., display theinformation or indicators thereof, provide audible indications of suchinformation). I/O device 903 may include, for example, one or more of atransceiver, a modem, a network card, a transmitter, a receiver, amicrophone, a speaker, an antenna, a light-emitting diode (“LED”), adisplay device, or any other device configured to provide or receiveinformation.

Any combination of one or more computer-readable storage media issuitable. A computer-readable storage medium may be, for example, butnot limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, orsemiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combinationof the foregoing. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of sucha computer-readable storage medium include the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a RAM, a ROM, an EPROM, an EEPROM, aFlash memory, an appropriate optical fiber with a repeater, a portablecompact disc read-only memory (“CD-ROM”), an optical storage device, amagnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.In the context of this document, a computer-readable storage medium maybe any tangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use byor in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, ordevice.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent disclosure may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object oriented programminglanguage, such as JAVA, C++, C#, or other suitable programminglanguages. The program code may execute entirely on a user's device,partly on a user's device, as a stand-alone software package, partly ona user's device and partly on a remote computer, or entirely on a remotecomputer or server. In the latter scenario, a remote computer may beconnected to a user's device through any type of network, including asatellite communications network, a local area network (“LAN”), or awide area network (“WAN”), or the connection may be made to an externalcomputer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet ServiceProvider) or offered as a service, such as, for example, a Software as aService (“SaaS”), e.g., over a secure web interface via a httpsconnection.

Aspects of the present disclosure are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatuses(including systems), and computer program products. Individual blocks ofthe flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations ofblocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can beimplemented by computer program instructions. These computer programinstructions may be provided to a processor of a general purposecomputer, special purpose computer, or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions,which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmableinstruction execution apparatus, create a mechanism for implementing thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

While the invention has been described in connection with variousexemplary structures and illustrative embodiments, it will be understoodby those skilled in the art that other variations and modifications ofthe structures, configurations, and embodiments described above may bemade without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, thescope of this application comprises all possible combinations of thevarious elements and features disclosed and incorporated by referenceherein, and the particular elements and features presented in the claimsand disclosed and incorporated by reference above may be combined witheach other in other ways within the scope of this application, such thatthe application should be recognized as also directed to otherembodiments comprising other possible combinations. Other structures,configurations, and embodiments consistent with the scope of the claimedinvention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from aconsideration of the specification or practice of the inventiondisclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and thedescribed examples are illustrative with the true scope of the inventionbeing defined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system configured to process one or more of aplurality of sheets of sheet material in a deposit, the systemcomprising: a sheet-accepting device configured to receive one or moresheet of the plurality of sheets; one or more sensors configured todetect characteristic information about the one or more sheet, thecharacteristic information indicating whether the one or more sheet isanomalous; an encoding device configured to encode the one or more sheetbased on the characteristic information detected by the one or moresensors, the encoding device configured to encode the one or more sheetwith: anomaly information when the characteristic information indicatesthat the one or more sheet is anomalous, and the anomaly informationidentifying a reason for indicating that the one or more sheet isanomalous; accounting information about the one or more sheet, theaccounting information identifying an account associated with thedeposit; and deposit information about the one or more sheet, thedeposit information comprising information about the plurality of sheetsin the deposit, the information about the plurality of sheets in thedeposit including a value associated with the deposit; a memoryconfigured to store the anomaly information for the one or more sheetand the one or more of the accounting information about the one or moresheet and the deposit information about the one or more sheet; and acontainer configured to receive the encoded one or more sheet thereinfor further processing when the characteristic information indicatesthat the one or more sheet is anomalous, wherein the encoding device isconfigured to not encode a particular sheet of the plurality of sheetswhen the characteristic information indicates that the particular sheetis not anomalous.
 2. The system according to claim 1, wherein thecharacteristic information detected by the one or more sensors includesa serial number of each of the one or more sheet, wherein, when thecharacteristic information indicates that the one or more sheet isanomalous, the encoding device is further configured to store the serialnumber of each of the one or more sheet in the memory, wherein theencoding device is configured to encode the one or more sheet with theanomaly information by storing, for each sheet of the one or more sheet,the anomaly information of the sheet in the memory in association withthe serial number of the sheet, wherein the encoding device isconfigured to encode the one or more sheet with the accountinginformation about the one or more sheet by storing, for each sheet ofthe one or more sheet, the accounting information about the sheet in thememory in association with the serial number of the sheet, and whereinthe encoding device is configured to encode the one or more sheet withthe deposit information about the one or more sheet by storing, for eachsheet of the one or more sheet, the deposit information about the sheetin the memory in association with the serial number of the sheet.
 3. Thesystem according to claim 1, wherein the encoding comprises at least onemarking that is linked to the anomaly information of the sheet and theone or more of the accounting information about the sheet and thedeposit information about the sheet stored in the memory.
 4. The systemaccording to claim 1, wherein, when the characteristic informationindicates that the one or more sheet is anomalous, the one or moresensors is configured to store an image of each of the one or more sheetin the memory, wherein the encoding device is configured to encode theone or more sheet with the anomaly information by associating, for eachsheet of the one or more sheet, the image of the sheet stored in thememory with the anomaly information of the sheet, and wherein theencoding device is configured to encode the one or more sheet with theaccounting information about the one or more sheet by associating, foreach sheet of the one or more sheet, the image of the sheet stored inthe memory with the accounting information about the sheet, and whereinthe encoding device is configured to encode the one or more sheet withthe deposit information about the one or more sheet by associating, foreach sheet of the one or more sheet, the image of the sheet stored inthe memory with the deposit information about the sheet.
 5. The systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the container is configured to receiveonly encoded sheets.
 6. A method for processing one or more of aplurality of sheets of sheet material in a deposit, the methodcomprising: receiving one or more sheet of the plurality of sheets in asheet-accepting device; detecting, by one or more sensors,characteristic information about the one or more sheet, thecharacteristic information indicating whether the one or more sheet isanomalous; encoding, by an encoding device, the one or more sheet basedon the characteristic information detected by the one or more sensors,the encoding the one or more sheet comprising encoding the one or moresheet with: anomaly information when the characteristic informationindicates that the one or more sheet is anomalous, and the anomalyinformation identifying a reason for indicating that the one or moresheet is anomalous; accounting information about the one or more sheet,the accounting information identifying an account associated with thedeposit; and deposit information about the one or more sheet, thedeposit information comprising information about the plurality of sheetsin the deposit, the information about the plurality of sheets in thedeposit including a value associated with the deposit; storing theanomaly information for the one or more sheet and the one or more of theaccounting information about the one or more sheet and the depositinformation about the one or more sheet in a memory when thecharacteristic information indicates that the one or more sheet isanomalous; and disposing the encoded one or more sheet in a containerfor further processing when the characteristic information indicatesthat the one or more sheet is anomalous, wherein the encoding devicedoes not perform the encoding step on a particular sheet of theplurality of sheets when the characteristics information indicates thatthe particular sheet is not anomalous.
 7. The method according to claim6, wherein the characteristic information detected by the one or moresensors includes a serial number of each of the one or more sheet,wherein, when the characteristic information indicates that the one ormore sheet is anomalous, the method further comprises storing the serialnumber of each of the one or more sheet in the memory, and wherein, whenthe characteristic information indicates that the one or more sheet isanomalous, the encoding the one or more sheet further comprises:storing, for each sheet of the one or more sheet, the anomalyinformation of the sheet in the memory in association with the serialnumber of the sheet, storing, for each sheet of the one or more sheet,the accounting information about the sheet in the memory in associationwith the serial number of the sheet, and storing, for each sheet of theone or more sheet, the deposit information about the sheet in the memoryin association with the serial number of the sheet.
 8. The methodaccording to claim 6, wherein the encoding comprises at least onemarking that is linked to the anomaly information of the sheet and theone or more of the accounting information about the sheet and thedeposit information about the sheet stored in the memory.
 9. The methodaccording to claim 6, further comprising: storing, when thecharacteristic information indicates that the one or more sheet isanomalous, an image of each of the one or more sheet in the memory,wherein, when the characteristic information indicates that the one ormore sheet is anomalous, the encoding the one or more sheet furthercomprises: associating, for each sheet of the one or more sheet, theimage of the sheet stored in the memory with the anomaly information ofthe sheet, and associating, for each sheet of the one or more sheet, theimage of the sheet stored in the memory with the accounting informationabout the sheet, and associating, for each sheet of the one or moresheet, the image of the sheet stored in the memory with the depositinformation about the sheet.
 10. The method according to claim 6,wherein only encoded sheets are disposed in the container.
 11. Anon-transitory, computer-readable medium storing computer-readableinstructions that, when executed by at least one processor, instruct theat least one processor to control processes for processing one or moreof a plurality of sheets of sheet material in a deposit, the processescomprising: receiving one or more sheet of the plurality of sheets in asheet-accepting device; detecting, by one or more sensors,characteristic information about the one or more sheet, thecharacteristic information indicating whether the one or more sheet isanomalous; encoding, by an encoding device, the one or more sheet basedon the characteristic information detected by the one or more sensors,the encoding the one or more sheet comprising encoding the one or moresheet with: anomaly information when the characteristic informationindicates that the one or more sheet is anomalous, and the anomalyinformation identifying a reason for indicating that the one or moresheet is anomalous; accounting information about the one or more sheet,the accounting information identifying an account associated with thedeposit; and deposit information about the one or more sheet, thedeposit information comprising information about the plurality of sheetsin the deposit, the information about the plurality of sheets in thedeposit including a value associated with the deposit; storing theanomaly information for the one or more sheet and the one or more of theaccounting information about the one or more sheet and the depositinformation about the one or more sheet in a memory when thecharacteristic information indicates that the one or more sheet isanomalous; and disposing the encoded one or more sheet in a containerfor further processing when the characteristic information indicatesthat the one or more sheet is anomalous, wherein the encoding process isnot performed on a particular sheet of the plurality of sheets when thecharacteristic information indicates that the particular sheet is notanomalous.
 12. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium according toclaim 11, wherein the characteristic information detected by the one ormore sensors includes a serial number of each of the one or more sheet,wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed by the atleast one processor, further instruct the at least one processor tocontrol processes comprising storing the serial number of each of theone or more sheet in the memory when the characteristic informationindicates that the one or more sheet is anomalous, and wherein, when thecharacteristic information indicates that the one or more sheet isanomalous, the encoding the one or more sheet further comprises:storing, for each sheet of the one or more sheet, the anomalyinformation of the sheet in the memory in association with the serialnumber of the sheet, storing, for each sheet of the one or more sheet,the accounting information about the sheet in the memory in associationwith the serial number of the sheet, and storing, for each sheet of theone or more sheet, the deposit information about the sheet in the memoryin association with the serial number of the sheet.
 13. Thenon-transitory, computer-readable medium according to claim 11, whereinthe encoding comprises at least one marking that is linked to theanomaly information of the sheet and the one or more of the accountinginformation about the sheet and the deposit information about the sheetstored in the memory.
 14. The non-transitory, computer-readable mediumaccording to claim 11, wherein the computer-readable instructions, whenexecuted by the at least one processor, further instruct the at leastone processor to control processes comprising storing an image of eachof the one or more sheet in the memory when the characteristicinformation indicates that the one or more sheet is anomalous, andwherein, when the characteristic information indicates that the one ormore sheet is anomalous, the encoding the one or more sheet furthercomprises: associating, for each sheet of the one or more sheet, theimage of the sheet stored in the memory with the anomaly information ofthe sheet, and associating, for each sheet of the one or more sheet, theimage of the sheet stored in the memory with the accounting informationabout the sheet, and associating, for each sheet of the one or moresheet, the image of the sheet stored in the memory with the depositinformation about the sheet.
 15. The non-transitory, computer-readablemedium according to claim 11, wherein only encoded sheets are disposedin the container.